Jay Shetty, the self-help podcaster and bestselling writer whose Hollywood status led him to officiate the marriage of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, plagiarized social media posts and lied about key facets of his life while climbing the ladder to stardom, in response to a damning exposé.
Shetty, the writer of bestselling books “Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day” and “8 Rules of Love: Find out how to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go,” falsely claimed to have spent three years in a temple in India, in response to a report by the British newspaper Guardian.
The host of the favored “On Purpose” podcast, whose guests have included the likes of Michelle Obama and other celebrities, has also concealed his past affiliation in a Hare Krishna sect whose members were once accused of kid sexual assault and corporal punishment, it was reported.
Jay Shetty, the bestselling writer and self-help podcaster, plagiarized social media posts and misrepresented facets of his biography, in response to a report. REUTERS
Shetty also appears to have misrepresented certain facets of his biography, including the anecdote about how his life was modified on the age of 18 when he heard a lecture by a monk, the report alleged.
Shetty’s resume features a degree in behavioral science from a business school that doesn’t even offer it, the Guardian reported.
Shetty recently appeared in Jennifer Lopez’s musical film feature “That is Me…Now.” FilmMagic
The report alleged that Shetty’s life-coaching school, the Jay Shetty Certification School, charges 1000’s of dollars while claiming that enrollment offers students “progression arrangements” with British universities — all of which deny any link to the college.
Shetty markets himself as a “Vedic monk” while neglecting to say the indisputable fact that he spent years growing up within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness — or Iskcon, a movement that pulls devotees who eschew drugs, alcohol, illicit sex and other vices as a technique to reach spiritual enlightenment.
Within the Seventies and 80s, children who were sent to boarding schools within the US and India which were run by the movement were reportedly subjected to widespread physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Shetty also officiated the nuptials between Lopez and her husband, Ben Affleck. AFP via Getty Images
Shetty doesn’t highlight this aspect of his spiritual upbringing while espousing a secular type of spirituality that relies on “pop psychology,” in response to the Guardian.
In keeping with Shetty, he was a traditional Brit of Indian extraction who was on the verge of entering the company world while enrolled at business school.
But a lecture by a monk inspired him to desert that life path in favor of an austere living as a penniless spiritual student in India for 3 years.
His spiritual and spiritual epiphanies that he experienced during his time at an ashram outside of Mumbai led him to spread the gospel to the masses — leading to the formation of his media empire.
Shetty’s ex-girlfriend also disputes a part of the claim. She told Guardian that Shetty spent the vast majority of those three years as a monk in Watford, a town just outside of London, and only visited India occasionally.
Lawyers for Shetty fold Guardian that his time as a monk began in May 2010, when he moved into Bhaktivedanta Manor in Watford. Three months later, he moved to India, his lawyers said.
Shetty claims to have spent three years as a monk in India, but a recent report says that he spent most of that point in a monastery outside London. FilmMagic
“Mr. Shetty spent most of his time in India with trips back to Bhaktivedanta Manor as Mr. Shetty was encouraged by his mentors on the monasteries in India to spend time serving in the neighborhood where he was raised,” the attorneys said.
Shetty “lived and traveled across India, the UK and Europe” in the course of the period when he was a monk, in response to his lawyers.
The Guardian also cited an interview that Shetty gave to an Iskcon-affiliated news site which quotes him as saying that “we are able to connect people internationally with Krishna consciousness, and begin a revolution online” with blogs, videos, social media posts and “presentations at universities” as a technique to reach “the Apple generation.”
But Shetty’s lawyers denied that “converting people to ‘Krishna consciousness’” was their client’s aim.
Shetty is the bestselling writer of “Think Like a Monk.”
His book “Think Like a Monk” is a way for “sharing the traditional wisdom he learned as a monk in a practical, accessible, relevant, and transformational way.”
After his experience at Iskcon, Shetty gained a mass following on Facebook and YouTube by posting self-help content.
But much of the content was authored by Iskcon youth who weren’t credited by Shetty.
Shetty also had the content posted by Iskcon members who weren’t paid for his or her work, it was alleged within the report.
“Mr. Shetty did ask and encourage friends to post, share, like and subscribe to his content,” in response to Shetty’s lawyers.
“Some friends assisted Mr. Shetty with filming and editing. Mr. Shetty didn’t make guarantees or represent to individuals or organizations that they’d be paid for posting, sharing, like and subscribing to his content.”
The Post has sought comment from Shetty.